


Tucked Beneath My Wings

by chii_kakumei



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! VRAINS
Genre: Brief Speculation sorta, Developing Relationship, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 08:03:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,645
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14745033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chii_kakumei/pseuds/chii_kakumei
Summary: Ema helped her find her wings again. If she can do something to repay that one day, no matter what it might cost her, then she decides, unconsciously, to do it.





	Tucked Beneath My Wings

**Author's Note:**

> aoi steals her girlfriend's sweaters confirmed

The first time she meets Ema, she’s not really sure how to react. She knows that _Ema_ knows she’s Blue Angel, but that doesn’t really clear things up. She knows that Ghost Girl caught her snooping around where she shouldn’t have been, and that’s about it. She holds on to Ema’s waist as she drives them out towards the bay, and wonders what this could possibly be about.

Turns out, it’s about what Aoi least wants to hear. _Blue Angel. Returning to LINK VRAINS. Her reasons for fighting… Her want for Akira to acknowledge her._

If she can’t take full responsibility, then she should stop being Blue Angel. Then she should give up on her online persona. That now that she’s satisfied, then she might as well give up before she half-heartedly drags people into her messes.

Ema tells her all that, and then she’s gone, speeding off into the sunset on her motorcycle with hair streaming out behind her, like some sort of siren from another world that Aoi’s just happened to cross paths with. In and out of her life like the wind.

Aoi frowns at her until she’s out of sight, then fumes all the way home. How dare she suddenly show up and lecture her like that? When she doesn’t know anything? Aoi’s never been this irritated in her entire life. She’s never wanted to prove someone wrong so badly. She’s probably on _Akira’s side._ Wanting to keep her away from the danger and coddle her like she’s some broken child.

Well, Aoi won’t let them do that.

Aoi snatches her duel disk and leaps straight into LINK VRAINS, because they’re _wrong._ And then she wins, and gets the satisfaction of _proving it._ She hopes Ema’s watching. Aoi hopes she sees just how wrong about her half-heartedness she was, because now no one has to live in the same darkness she fell into. Now, everyone is saved.

But it… helps. In the long run, in a weird, roundabout way, it really does help Aoi clear her head and figure out what exactly she wants to do from now on. And though she doesn’t speak to Ema for a while, that sense of superiority starts to mellow out into something else without her even realizing. Something kinder. Something kind of grateful. Ema helped her find her wings again. If she can do something to repay that one day, no matter what it might cost her, then she decides, unconsciously, to do it.

 

The second time she meets Ema, the conversation is much easier. They’re both waiting for Akira, who must have some sort of plan for them. Neither of them know what. They’re on even terms, now. The small talk is fine, but there’s one thing that Aoi sort of wants to say. She feels like she owes Ema, in this small little way.

“I’m sorry,” Aoi ends up saying. Ema tilts her head in surprise.

“Whatever for?” Aoi doesn’t know, but Ema seems like she’s looking for memory of some debt that Aoi owes her. She wonders if Ema realizes just how much Aoi needed her words, back then. Her backhanded, teasing sort of belief in her.

“I couldn’t save you.” She’d been so worried for Ema, who’d gone missing without a trace. Aoi still doesn’t exactly know everything that happened before and after her part in trying to stop the Tower of Hanoi, but she knows she couldn’t help Ema at all. Ema, who must have been scared and screaming into the endless darkness the same way she had twice over. Someone she hadn’t been able to save after all.

Ema huffs, and for a second Aoi thinks that maybe she’s going to lecture her again. Something about responsibility, or lack of, or reasons to fight. But that’s not what happens. She crosses her arms, but she smiles. “I think I should be saying that to you.”

“What?” Aoi suddenly feels defensive again. Ema owes her nothing. It’s not Ema’s fault she went back into LINK VRAINS to do the right thing.

But Ema doesn’t get a chance to respond, because it’s right then when Akira walks up to them. And though Ema protests putting her in danger, Aoi insists. It’s Ema who taught her to be brave. So for her sake, and to find Akira’s truth, she’ll be the bravest she’s ever been. Reluctantly Ema gives up and allows her to come along, and Aoi watches her determined. She’ll prove herself again, and again, and however many times it takes to stand on the same ground as her. She can, certainly, one day fly that high.

 

If they’re going in undercover, then it’s probably time for a change of avatar. It probably won’t do much, given what anyone involved in this layer of mess can do, but… If she’s being honest, Aoi kind of wants to change it. Blue Angel is made to entertain the crowds and attract attention. It’s not going to be very helpful for whatever they’re doing here. But what to change it to… Aoi sighs, because she has no idea. _Stealth_. Well, she certainly knows a person that’s good at that.

Aoi thinks about Ghost Girl. About _Ema,_ who has that same effortless charm both in the virtual world and reality. And maybe Aoi’s a little bit jealous. That’s why her heart skips a beat and her breath catches in her throat. Maybe that’s the kind of person she wishes she could be, instead of relying on false charm she puts on like makeup every time she goes to LINK VRAINS.

...Maybe she’s just doing a bad job of lying to herself.

But at least it gives her an idea of what kind of avatar she wants. Aoi sets to work, pleasantly light-headed as everything starts to take shape. She keeps little bits of herself, here and there, but it’s not a perfect replica she has in mind. The more she works, the more nervous she gets, the sillier she wants to tell herself it is… but the gentle feeling in her chest tells her to keep pressing on. So she does. And by the time she’s finished with it, it’s long after she should have gone to sleep, but she doesn’t care. She just looks over it a final time and smiles, and hopes her inspiration loves it just as much as she does.

She’s weirdly nervous when she reveals her avatar to Ema, too. She tells herself it’s dumb, except she knows it kind of isn’t. If Ema laughs at her, if Ema thinks she’s just a weak imitation, then… She won’t cry, but she sure isn’t going to feel any good about it, even if she knows that she can hide it well. The stealth program vanishes, and Aoi holds her breath as she waits for Ema’s reaction, fearing for the worst. For laughter. For another sort of backhanded prompt that’ll just make her mad before it makes her happy. But Ema doesn’t do any of that.

She calls her _mature._ She gives her a matching name. White and black, pink and blue. It’s really like they’re a set, now. Aoi doesn’t have wings, anymore, but she still feels like she can fly.

(And it’s not just because there’s no longer so much data on her shoulders, either.)

 

Aoi doesn’t know very much about Ema, still. Not her full name, or her purpose, or even how she and Akira met exactly. But she still knows some things, and it’s all the things she can observe. She’s smart, and she’s cunning, and she wanted to keep Aoi from coming along on a mission that no one has returned from. To keep her safe, not because she thinks Aoi is weak but because she’s just genuinely worried for her. She knows that Ema has her base of operations in an old run down warehouse when she could easily afford somewhere much nicer for both that and where she lives. That she asks for money, but doesn’t let it blind her to doing the right thing.

Like right now. Like shoving her out of the way as Blood Shepherd prepares a strike that won’t just take their data, but destroy it entirely.

Aoi crashes to the ground and picks herself just as fast, rolling back to her feet easily without the bulk of her wings. She whirls on the spot, towards where Ema is facing down Blood Shepherd with a fearsome expression on her face and a trace of something satisfied in her eyes as she glances back away from Aoi and back to the bounty hunter.

_If we meet a man named Blood Shepherd, make sure you bargain for a duel,_ Ema had said, _because you can win._

But Ema won’t even be getting the chance for that. Their emergency escape programs are jammed, there’s no way out, and everyone present knows it.

“I told you,” Blood Shepherd says, “I won’t make exceptions. Not even for you.”

It’s not even a thought. She knows what she has to do. She knows why she came here. Aoi leaps between them and spreads her arms wide and braces for the blast to hit her as Ema gasps out her name, pained in a way that shouldn’t hurt so much. She doesn’t know how or why Ema’s become so important to her so quickly, but it doesn’t matter.

Wings bloom out again from her back, great white feathers that shield Ema from any residual malicious code. Blood Shepherd makes a noise of vague disappointment, and Aoi almost stumbles as she feels the program start to eat away at the edges of her mind. But she stands strong, because this is what she’s decided. Ema gave her courage to believe in herself again. Even now, Ema’s presence behind her gives her strength.

She’ll protect her, no matter what.


End file.
